A long awaited new facility was opened at Bridges last Tuesday. It was always the intention to transform the area outside the Agincourt Hall into a patio and sheltered garden for the elderly club members who attend COMIC and also for other users of the Centre. The dream finally came true when HSBC bank generously awarded a grant of £5,000 for the work to be completed. The work was carried out in seven extremely hot days by Sam Jones of 'Down to Earth'. The result is an extremely attractive landscaped area within a walled garden. The COMIC members are already looking forward to sitting out there in the hot summer days we are expecting. It will also be a useful addition to the centre when parties and other events are held in the hall. The new garden was officially opened by Emma Hooper, the Manager of HSBC bank in Monmouth, and George Pritchard, Chair of COMIC at Bridges. Emma commented, "We are delighted to be able to support this project as Bridges is a charity which does a fantastic job in Monmouth and we try to help them in whatever way we can. "It will be wonderful to see the garden develop and we are already collecting plants from other branches in our network to make it even more attractive." George Pritchard said, "We have waited a long time for this and we are extremely grateful to HSBC for finally being able to get the work done. The garden is something that Bridges and COMIC can be extremely proud of and I know that our clients will make very good use of it." The patio was opened during a COMIC coffee morning which was attended by invited guests, the Mayor of Monmouth, representatives from HSBC, and the Bridges volunteer gardening group whose job it will
